Painting help/questions

I have a 2000 Yamaha SUV I am rebuilding. The hood and steering surround was in bad shape. I took sandpaper and got all clearcoat off and most of the paint. I used "bonding" primer with 1500 then 2000 grit wet sand paper to get it smooth. I am wanting to get a good paint job but the local shop wants 300 for a "marine" paint job. My question is ... how hard is it to paint myself? I have heard that "rattle can" jobs always turn out bad. Do I get marine paint or can automotive paint work? I have a air compressor and a HVLP gun that been sitting in the box new for like a year now.

As mentioned, good prep work and good paint goes a long way. Think of the HLVP as a rattle can that just puts out a good bit more paint and a wider spray. Automotive paint will work fine and the base coat/clear coat paints are pretty forgiving to use.

good thread, I maybe trying to paint my skis myself and defiantly need to read up on the how to. One question, will the paint fill in small defects in the fiberglass of the ski? Or do I need to touch up every little spot with some type of filler and sand it down for it to come out smooth?